My New Baby! (Kahr PM9)

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - My New Baby! (Kahr PM9)

Posted: 1/16/2003 3:07:58 PM EDT

I picked up my new Kahr PM9 today! I traded my Glock 26 for it almost a month and a half ago, and the dealer just got it in. They're pretty scarce.

I have to go to the range tomorrow!

Posted: 1/16/2003 3:13:33 PM EDT

[#1]

Nice looking baby, congrats. Let us know how it shoots.

Posted: 1/17/2003 5:05:48 AM EDT

[#2]

Range report!!!!!!

Posted: 1/18/2003 9:38:29 AM EDT

[#3]

I just got back from the range, and the PM9 shoots great! It took about 4 mags (26 rds) to break it in, but after that, I didn't have a single malfunction. I shot tight groups at 25" with Winchester 115gr value pack, and they opened up with the +p 124gr gold dots. Those +p's are HOT in a gun this light. I didn't notice so much with my Glock 26, but it's really evident with the PM9.

I'm still debating about whether or not I should use the +p's for self defense in this gun; I'm not very confident in my ability to control it under stress. Any suggestions for a lighter load that would still be decent for self defense? And for all you .45 snobs out there, I'd like to see you shoot a .45 that was this light and easy to carry.

I'd rather have the 9mm I can carry than leave the .45 at home.

The grip is a little small for me. I was using the second pad to pull the trigger. I think I need to practice a different grip on this.

The sights also take a little getting used to. There is a white dot on the front post, and the rear square notch has a single white dot centered under it. Pretty quick, once you get used to it.

Posted: 1/18/2003 11:35:09 AM EDT

[#4]

I'm waiting for mine. I've researched it a bit and I think either Federal 9bp or Remington golden sabers will work just fine. For this size/weight I agree +p's are not worth it. Gold Dots (my fav in .40) seem to not always feed 100% according to all the repts I've gathered. I'm getting XS sights (used to be called Ashley Outdoors). They are really fast and easy for close up work, and I don't plan to use this gun for distance tack driving.

Posted: 1/18/2003 2:27:41 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
I'm waiting for mine. I've researched it a bit and I think either Federal 9bp or Remington golden sabers will work just fine. For this size/weight I agree +p's are not worth it. Gold Dots (my fav in .40) seem to not always feed 100% according to all the repts I've gathered. I'm getting XS sights (used to be called Ashley Outdoors). They are really fast and easy for close up work, and I don't plan to use this gun for distance tack driving.

I agree with the standard pressure ammo in this little pistol. The already mentioned 9bp or the Hydra Shok 124 gr standard pressure would be my first choices.
However, the XS sites.....if you haven't used them, they do take some getting used to. I have them in the AO Large Dot Express Night Site variant one of my K9 Elite 98's...they are different if you're going with the V or express style rear sight.
On my next Kahr I'll order it with the trijicon 3 dot nights because they are what I have on most of my other handguns.

Posted: 1/18/2003 4:45:46 PM EDT

[#6]

You are right about a constant sight picture. I've gone with AO on all my GLOCKs. (except an old one I haven't upgraded yet). If you use the standard dot with the tritium bar rear, and line up the green inner dot with the green bar, rather than all that white paint, you can get really good accuracy. That's what I do with my G35. But for point and click the "can't miss center mass" stuff is right there. My G27 and G23 both have the tritium big dot. You can still get an accurate shot, but not quite as good or easy.

I haven't seen a sight that comes close for fast shooting. Look at the target and bring the gun up into your field of vision. The sights just pop right up and your eye is drawn in to that front sight like a magnet.

Posted: 1/18/2003 4:49:29 PM EDT

[#7]

BTW, this Kahr will fit the bill nicely where my G27 is just too thick. It will take a lot of pocket time away from my P32. That will become a really niche item. In fact, when the new .380 KT comes out the P32 may may hit the inactive roster.

Posted: 1/31/2003 10:13:00 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
I picked up my new Kahr PM9 today!

Congrats! I got mine in November and am really enamoured with it. For a defensive load, I do carry 124g Gold Dot +p and I've never had a single problem with them in 100 rounds. You're right about it opening the groups up (compared to the 124g Blazer I shoot), but I'm a lousy shot and I still have no problem keeping a full mag within a silhouette at 10 yards weak handed (one handed). Two handed groups are palm-sized at 10 yards and that's as good as I am with any handgun. I'm pretty new to this handgun thing, don't have much practice.

Mine also took about four mags to break-in. In the first four mags, I had about 3 or 4 failures to feed, beyond that, it's been absolutely problem free in 300 rounds of 124grain ball ammo (mix of 100 Blazer and 200 American Eagle) and 100 rounds of 124grain +p Gold Dot.

Posted: 2/12/2003 7:26:59 PM EDT

[#9]

I got mine a couple days ago. I've only run 100 rounds through it so far, and I have not had one problem. I won't completely trust it, till I have a couple hundred rounds through it. So far its a great gun.

Posted: 2/15/2003 6:28:26 PM EDT

[#10]

Got mine. Straight to the range. It semmed real stiff, so I hit it with a few drops of CLP, worked the slide a dozen or so times, loosened right up. 100 rds Georgia Arms 115 gr. FMJ through the two supplied mags, not a hiccup. recoil totally manageable, groups fine, although I wasn't trying for accuracy. I was going for minute-of-torso FAST rather than minute-of-angle. Then I put 25 rounds of GA Arms 115 gr hollow points through, again not a single issue with function, recoil, or accuracy. I only had 150 rds on hand, and wanted to save a few HP's.

I really like this pistol. I'm going to order the XS sights and a few more 7 round mags with the grip extenders for the range. Don't see a need for the A-grip. I'll buy a few boxes of various hollow points and +p's to pick a carry ammo, but I don't feel under gunned with the GA 115's.

Posted: 2/15/2003 6:40:22 PM EDT

[#11]

Congrats on the Kahr, I did the opposite. I had this gun and was happy with it, now I carry a Glock 26 and I am trilled. I love both guns, but cleaning the Kahr was a pain.

Posted: 2/16/2003 2:53:40 AM EDT

[#12]

$37 bones for a spare mag! Ouch. I like to be able to shoot a Q score without topping off, but I may make the exception here. I'd need 3 more mags to have at least 30 rounds on board.

Posted: 2/16/2003 12:37:03 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
It took about 4 mags (26 rds) to break it in, but after that, I didn't have a single malfunction. I shot tight groups at 25" with Winchester 115gr value pack,

I took my brand new PM9 to the range today. Out of 200 rounds, I had 6 malfunctions, all of them failed to extract casings. I was also using the Winchester 115gr FMJ value pack. The manual says that you should fire at least 200 rounds through it before it's considered to be reliable. We'll see how it goes next weekend. I am not a happy camper right now.

Posted: 2/22/2003 8:15:26 PM EDT

[#14]

Another 125 rounds of GA 115 gr (both FMJ and HP) through without a hint of trouble. I'm buying more mags just cause it's such a pain to run through 100 rounds 13 at a time! I'm used to having at minimum 3 15 round mags ready to go on the hot range command.

I really like this pistol a lot.

Posted: 2/22/2003 8:21:47 PM EDT

[#15]

Damn. That's all I can say. I just received my XS 24/7 tritium big dot sights, and they are amazing! I can hardly believe how much faster & easier they are to acquire compared to the factory sights (or any other pistol sights I have used). They ain't cheap at $120, but I'm going to have to get some for my Glock 19 now.

Quoted:
I'm getting XS sights (used to be called Ashley Outdoors). They are really fast and easy for close up work, and I don't plan to use this gun for distance tack driving.

Posted: 2/28/2003 9:39:37 AM EDT

[#16]

Hello. I am interested in getting the PM9 but still waiting to see what you guys think after using it a while. Thanks, Bill

Posted: 2/28/2003 12:20:25 PM EDT

[#17]

At this time, I would NOT recommend getting a PM9. I think that Kahr is rushing to meet demand and quality is suffering. I fired 200 rounds of Winchester 115gr FMJ and had 6 failures to extract casings. A week later, I shot another 200 rounds, same ammo. This time I had 5 malfunctions - same problem. I called Kahr tech support and they told me that that it was an extractor problem and they have a new design extractor that they will install and then check out thoroughly. I paid close to $600 for the gun (including tax) and just spent another $40 to overnight ship it. When I get it back, I'll shoot the hell out of it and if I have any more problems, I'll cut my losses and get rid of it, not to mention never buying another Kahr again. A friend of mine told me they were junk, I should've listened to him. While I'm sure some people don't have any trouble with Kahrs, you should go with a model that's been around. The PM9 is still relatively new and they haven't worked out all the problems yet.

Kahr-ma

Posted: 2/28/2003 2:51:56 PM EDT

[#18]

Mine's running like a Chevy. The XS sights and spare mags are en route. Hope they get here in time to shoot my Q score this week.

Posted: 3/10/2003 9:04:52 PM EDT

[#19]

Well i was a fan and still kinda am, i had a k40 covert elite that was accurate and 100% reliable, then got rid of it for a g27, had that for a while and liked it,but can't carry as a ankle backup,so i sold it and got a k40 covert again, well its feeds fine,can tell difference in quality and slide to frame fit, well i shot it 2 different occasions with different ammo. Both times it throws casing straight over my head,today got hit in forehead,anfd both times groups were lousy. I started out with old leite and started cloeup and went back and got good with it,very accurate than expected,but this one can't hit a target at 25yrds,like i could with old one,can't hit but 1 rd out of 5 and thats consistant too at 30 feet,tried 25ft and same. I think i got a lemon, its slide to frame fit is loose too. I bought it new.I hope karh with fix extractor and replace parts or gun,cause i will not own a gun i can't hit at 25yrds, i have to qualify at 25yrds to carry as backup,ya i know most one good to 30ft,but my old karh was a exception and the new one can't do that at 30ft.

Posted: 3/14/2003 4:47:56 AM EDT

[#20]

my experience mirrors yours.
My PM9 is 3 days old, 200 rds fired with 100% reliability. Ficcochi ball, Fed nyclad, Fed 115+p+, Gold Dot 125+p and Geco ball
you can moderate the recoil by going to a lighter bullet load and adding a Pachmayer grip thiing.
It does jump a bit with +p loads
My only dissappointment so far is the accuracy. First the ft sight was loose and slid around every shot, but even after fixing that, I still can't achive groups to equal my P9. My P9 shoots 3" groups@25 yds EASY, the MP9 works hard to get 8" groups. Kahr says it should do better and I hope so.
Love this gun
here are some velocitys measured by another party
MK9 3.0 barrel
Federal 124+p+.........1063A = 311 fpe
CorBon 125jhp.........1213A = 408 fpe
Federal 115+p+.........1186A = 360 fpe
Winchester 127+p+....1160A = 379 fpe
Remington 115+p+.....1270A = 411 fpe

Posted: 3/22/2003 12:43:10 PM EDT

[#21]

Slight delay, but I finally got to shoot the Q scores. 3 chances, 3 passing scores. 1 jam. it was a FTE-empty hung in ejection port. Cleared withou breaking stride. Still shot the Q score, and well within time. I'm well over 500 rounds (stoped counting) and that's 1 problem, and in a sitaution where there was score keeping, time, peeer pressure, etc., it was cleared easily and quickly. I am now cleared to carry it at work, and I trust it enough to do so.

Got the XS sights, don't have them on yet. Oh well. Got the mags in time. Sucked to pay that much, but apparently that's life.

Posted: 3/22/2003 4:36:16 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
Slight delay, but I finally got to shoot the Q scores. 3 chances, 3 passing scores.
...
I am now cleared to carry it at work, and I trust it enough to do so.

Great!

Got the XS sights, don't have them on yet. Oh well. Got the mags in time. Sucked to pay that much, but apparently that's life.

I still drool over the XS 24/7 big dot every time I go to the range. Soooooo fast to acquire. I ordered some cheap ($16) ProMag magazines from fourfourmag.com for range use. I haven't gotten them yet, but I think they are the 7 rounders. I'll post info when I get to try them. I ordered 5 to get a 10% discount; I hate having to stop every 13 rounds and load mags.

Posted: 3/23/2003 9:31:10 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
$37 bones for a spare mag! Ouch. I like to be able to shoot a Q score without topping off, but I may make the exception here. I'd need 3 more mags to have at least 30 rounds on board.

I should hang out on GlocTalk more. Got the tip that www.arizonagunrunners.com/cgi-bin/cart.pl?db|kahrmags.dat|Kahr%20Mags has them for $25.

Posted: 4/11/2003 8:12:21 AM EDT

[#24]

Hi. I wanted to report that mine had problems when I got it. It failed to eject cartridges many times so they had me send it back. They have had it for 14 days and haven't looked at it yet. Looking forward to have a working PM9 back. Regards, Bill

Posted: 4/11/2003 9:27:34 AM EDT

[#25]

My PM9 has worked fine from day one. I have put a few hundred rounds of FMJ and hollow points through it with no problems at all. Watch-Six

Posted: 4/14/2003 6:51:34 PM EDT

[#26]

I sent it back.
This gun would shoot 14" groups@ 25 yds rested on average with 2 brands of factory ammo.
A fellow named Bardhyl Durmillari serviced it and noted a ft sight repair and barrel replacement. Well, the replaced barrel was not new as shown by the burnish marks. And it still will not keep shots on paper.
The gun is 100% reliable, but my P9 shoots much better and this was the performance I was expecting for the $580 price tag out the door.
I am done with it.
My S&W 337 airlite shoots 3" at the same range.
Buyer beware.

Posted: 4/14/2003 6:52:10 PM EDT

[#27]

double tap

Posted: 4/18/2003 8:14:14 AM EDT

[#28]

I am a big fan of Kahrs, have owned three different models. The design of these guns is fundamentally very sound. If you are having trouble with a specific model or gun, send it back to them because your lemon is not indicative of most people's experience.

Posted: 4/18/2003 8:28:40 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
I sent it back.
This gun would shoot 14" groups@ 25 yds rested on average with 2 brands of factory ammo.
A fellow named Bardhyl Durmillari serviced it and noted a ft sight repair and barrel replacement. Well, the replaced barrel was not new as shown by the burnish marks. And it still will not keep shots on paper.
The gun is 100% reliable, but my P9 shoots much better and this was the performance I was expecting for the $580 price tag out the door.
I am done with it.
My S&W 337 airlite shoots 3" at the same range.
Buyer beware.

You know, I'm less and less enthralled with my PM9 every day. I kept assuming that I would just get better with practice, but I've hit a plateau. It's very reliable, but accuracy kind of stinks. It's enough to get the job done (6" at 25' with different brands of factory ammo), but it's very disappointing compared to my Glock 26, which would easily do 1-2" groups at the same range.

I like the weight and size for carry, but it takes a lot of work for me to get any kind of accuracy out of it. Accuracy is extremely sensitive to the grip & trigger pull. With the G27, I could just pick it up and shoot good groups.

Posted: 4/25/2003 9:19:15 AM EDT

[#30]

I just got the PM9 after they had it 3 weeks. It seems good now. After 100 rounds I only had one fail to eject. It was at the end of the 100 so maybe it needs to be clean? Thanks, Bill

Posted: 4/25/2003 8:17:19 PM EDT

[#31]

How much accuracy do you expect out of a 15 oz pocket pistol?
I was fairly stunned at how accurate mine was, 6 of 6 into two inches at fifteen yards right out of the box.
With a friends help, we shot the obligatory 200 rounds for break-in. There was one failure to eject, but it could have very easily been my fault. This gun is so small and light it is a little fatigueing to shoot. My accuracy suffered greatly as the rounds downrange increased. Ammo for break-in and for carry is the Win white box you can buy at Wal-mart for $11/hundred.
I like this gun. It is quality. It is still a little too heavy for my pockets for everyday.
Summary: For a pocket pistol for everyday use, I will stick with the KT .32, but will certainly be looking hard at KT's upcoming .380.

Posted: 4/27/2003 9:40:19 AM EDT

[#32]

Greetings. Has anyone found an in the pocket holster that they like for the PM9? How about an ankle holster? Thanks, Bill

Posted: 4/27/2003 11:17:05 AM EDT

[#33]

Andrews custom leather
www.andrewsleather.com/

Posted: 5/25/2003 12:01:07 PM EDT

[#34]

An acquaintence of mine liked my PM9 so much she asked me to get her one (still not on the shelves around here). It came in and I took it to the range to wring it out for her. 100 FMJ's and 25 JHP's later, not one FTF, FTE, or problem of any kind, it was pronounced good to go, cleaned, and turned over to her. There may be some lemons out there, but I'm 2 for 2.

Posted: 6/5/2003 2:12:02 PM EDT

[#35]

I recently passed on a PM9 for a P40. First 200 rounds in one setting and no malfunctions. Accuracy was more than acceptable with all rounds staying in the 10 ring of a reduced silhouette at 15 yards. Recoil is sharp but manageable.

Maybe I need the P9 too

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - My New Baby! (Kahr PM9)

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